Pirfenidone for Restrictive Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Trial end date: 2021-10-31
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Despite advances in lung transplantation, the median survival remains only 55% at 5 years. The main limitation to long term survival is the development of chronic lung allograft dysfunction. In approximately 30% of cases, chronic lung allograft dysfunction has a restrictive phenotype (RCLAD) characterized by fibrosis with rapid progression to respiratory failure. Approximately 60% of patients with RCLAD die within one year, as currently there are no therapies available.

RCLAD, like Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), is characterized by fibroblast proliferation, extracellular matrix deposition, and architectural distortion leading to progressive lung scarring and death. Given their similarities, there is keen interest in the international transplant community to investigate whether the anti-fibrotic drug pirfenidone can slow the progression of RCLAD as it does of IPF. Pirfenidone has been proved to be safe and effective in patients with IPF, and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

This protocol will evaluate the safety and tolerability of pirfenidone in lung transplant recipients with RCLAD. Transplant recipients take carefully adjusted immunosuppressive medications for life to prevent rejection of the allograft. Current literature suggests the dose of tacrolimus, the main anti-rejection drug, may need to be adjusted when taken in combination with pirfenidone. The investigators will assess the side effects of pirfenidone in combination with the immunosuppressive regimen and determine the magnitude of the adjustment in tacrolimus dose. The results of this pilot study will provide the foundation for a multicenter randomized control trial to evaluate the efficacy of pirfenidone in slowing the progression of RCLAD.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborator: Genentech, Inc.
• Treatments: Pirfenidone

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subject who underwent bilateral lung transplantation at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and have a diagnosis of RCLAD based on the International Heart and Lung Transplant (ISHLT) classification. The diagnosis of RCLAD is based on spirometry (Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) ≤ 80% and FVC ≤ 80% of best post-transplant baseline) and CT scan (e.g. pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis) findings.

Exclusion Criteria:

• FVC decline related to non-RCLAD causes (e.g. pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, etc).

• Patients with any severe comorbidity complicating RCLAD which might determine their prognosis and functional level (e.g. active malignant disease) within the last 12 months

• Patients who have resumed smoking after transplantation

• Renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min calculated by the CKD-Epi formula)

• Total bilirubin above the upper limit of the normal range (ULN)

• Aspartate or alanine aminotransferase (AST or ALT) > 3 times the ULN.

• Known allergy of hypersensitivity to Pirfenidone

• Pregnancy

• Ongoing use or expected use of any of the following therapies:

• Strong inhibitors of CYP1A2 (e.g. fluvoxamine or enoxacin).

• Moderate inhibitors of CAYP1A2 (e. g. mexiletine, thiabendazole, or phenylpropanolamine). Ciprofloxacin will be allowed only at doses equal or less than 500 mg BID.

• Inability to provide informed consent.